Wednesday

Jun 6, 2018 at 12:16 PMJun 7, 2018 at 12:08 AM

On Monday morning, Chad Bates started his first day as battalion chief in the Springfield Fire Department's training department, after being temporarily appointed on May 24. On Monday afternoon, Bates’ attorney filed a lawsuit against Mayor Jim Langfelder, asking a judge to make Bates’ appointment permanent. On Monday night, Bates, 44, was arrested after allegedly threatening a Sherman police officer.

Bates has been placed on paid administrative leave until the Sangamon County Attorney’s Office completes its investigation, Springfield Fire Chief Allen Reyne said on Wednesday.

Monday’s actions were the newest twist in an almost yearlong saga in Bates' quest to be promoted from fire captain — a saga that involves disciplinary actions, civil lawsuits and now possible criminal charges.

Lawsuit against the city Civil Service Commission

Candidates have to take an infrequently offered exam to be promoted in the fire department to battalion chief, the third-highest ranking spot in each of the department’s three divisions. The results of the exam, tabulated with other weighted factors like seniority, are ordered into a list. The order of the list must be validated by the city’s Civil Service Commission. Vacancies are filled in order of the list.

Bates has served as a firefighter for almost 19 years. Assessments were done in February and March of last year, and the written exam was administered in May. That same month, Bates was investigated for bringing a firearm four months earlier into a firehouse and not self-reporting the incident as the highest ranking officer, both violations of the city code. He forgot the gun on a chair in the kitchen and another firefighter had to return it to him, according to court filings. A battalion chief began investigating the incident months later after hearing rumors. Bates was suspended for 144 hours, which equals six 24-hour shifts.

In September, results of the preliminary promotional list were posted and Bates scored second. In October, Bates received word from the Civil Service Commission that due to his disciplinary record, he would be excluded from the list.

In December, Bates sued the Civil Service Commission, saying the commission didn’t have the authority to remove him from the list. He added that when he agreed to the disciplinary action, he didn’t forgo his ability to be considered for a promotion.

In response, the city not only cited Bates’ May disciplinary action, but also a 2015 incident in which he received counseling for making a false report to police about his vehicle tires being slashed.

In March, Bates won. Judge John ‘Mo’ Madonia ordered Bates' name to be reinstated. The timing was good for Bates. An exodus of top-ranking firefighters' retirements eventually left three battalion chief vacancies.

Months dragged by without a new list certified with Bates' name on it. In another hearing before Madonia on May 21, assistant city attorney Steven Rahn argued the city wanted a stay of Madonia’s order while it appealed his ruling to a higher court.

Madonia was irate.

“That’s the game you are going to play?” Madonia asked Rahn. “... I hope there’s a way out there to hold (the Civil Service Commission) in contempt.”

“They are playing games with his order,” Bates’ attorney Don Craven said after the hearing. “That pisses judges off.”

A week later, on May 29, the Civil Service Commission called a special meeting and reinstated Bates to the list, with the condition his name would be tossed if the appeals court reversed its ruling. Since the first person of the list was already promoted, the next vacancy would be Bates’.

However, there were no vacancies. On May 24, the mayor, through the fire chief, appointed Bates and the third person on the list, Gary Self, as temporary battalion chiefs. According to Rahn, without a promotional list in place, the city has the ability to appoint a firefighter for up to 180 days. In that time, the salaries of Bates and Self also rose from about $87,600 to about $100,700.

“The appointments were made in consultation with the legal office,” Reyne said.

City attorney Jim Zerkle said the appointments complied with the spirit of Madonia’s order while the city awaited a decision from the appeals court.

“Don’t comply with the spirit of the order,” Craven said. “Comply with the order. Reinstate (Bates).”

Lawsuit and criminal charges

The union that represents the city’s firefighters, Firefighters Local 37, as well as Bates and Self, disagreed that the appointments should be temporary. On Monday, Craven filed a petition, asking the court to make Bates and Self battalion chiefs permanently.

Craven said there was a list in place when the appointments were made. On May 18, battalion chief candidates received an e-mail with a promotional list that left Bates’ name off.

Even though it was the “wrong” list in his view, it was a list, Craven said.

Zerkle said without seeing the petition, he would not be able to comment.

Then came Monday night.

According to a Sherman police report, officers were near Radford and Flaggland drives about 9 p.m. looking for a man who was wanted. Bates was not the man the officers were looking for, but he reportedly walked up to the officers and asked them who they were messing with. His exact words, according to the report, included an obscenity.

The report indicates that at least one of the officers knew Bates. Bates then walked to the Hartford Drive area and continued to heckle officers.

“Chad was ten to fifteen feet away from my location, as I was traveling away from him, and he said that if I wasn’t hiding behind that badge, he’d (expletive) me up,” an officer wrote in the report.

After concluding the search for the wanted subject, the officers went to Bates’ home.

The report said Bates appeared angry and met them in the driveway.

“I told him I wanted to know what his intentions were regarding his statements he had said. He smiled, looked in my direction and said that I knew what his intentions were,” the report said. “I walked towards him, told him he was under arrest and told him to place his hands behind his back.”

It is unclear if charges against Bates have been filed, though Bates did spend a night in jail on charges for obstructing a peace officer and intimidation. A request for comment by the state’s attorney’s office was not returned.

Bates referred The State Journal-Register to his criminal defense attorney for comment, who did not respond.

Craven and Self said the plaintiffs were going to “forge ahead” with the petition.

Self, who happens to be the union president, said he wouldn’t be able to judge Bates’ actions and what discipline they merited until he knew the details

By Wednesday, Self had been a battalion chief for three days and was working a eight-hour days, instead of 24-hour shifts. He was able to watch his son play in a baseball game at Lanphier Park Wednesday night.

Information

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